Los Angeles · Seed–Series A · 3 people tracked
Find your way into Starburst Ventures
578 people in our graph share verified history with the Starburst Ventures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
Starburst focuses on the Aerospace & Defense sector, which it views as a historical proving ground for scientific breakthroughs. It backs startups advancing space exploration, clean and hypersonic flight, aerial intelligence for climate action, and new deterrence capabilities intended to help America and its allies regain technological advantage. Positioned as an accelerator, Starburst bridges startups, industrial players, and allied governments, offering hands-on support, consulting missions to potential partners, and access to private pitches and events. The team comprises founders, domain experts, and connectors who work closely with portfolio companies as extended members of their core teams.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 3 people
from public directories
What they invest in
from 5 of 6 portfolio companiesDefense Tech ×4AI & Machine Learning ×3Robotics ×3GovTech ×2Hardware ×2IoT ×2Crypto & Web3 ×1Cybersecurity ×1
HQs:United States×3Germany×1
Portfolio companies · 6 tracked
alumni founders can tell you what the program is really likeBy year:2026 · 12024 · 12 dated
Corenova Technologies builds Hive Defense, a security platform that combines self-learning swarm bots with blockchain to monitor and respond to real-time events across digital and physical infrastructure.
Crypto & Web3CybersecurityRoboticsSanta Monica, US
Palo Alto geospatial analytics company applying AI and computer vision to satellite, aerial and mobile location data; acquired by Privateer in 2024.
James Crawford(Founder)Kevin O'Brien(CEO)in
Co-investorsAnsa CapitalBrighter CapitalGen CapitalGeodesic CapitalGV (Google Ventures)Hemisphere Ventures LLC+6 more
Picogrid provides software and edge computing networks to integrate heterogeneous sensors, drones, and autonomous systems for real-time command and control across defense and wildfire detection applications.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechGovTechIoTRoboticsEl Segundo, US
Zane Mountcastle(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inMartin Slosarik(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)in
BoardDavid Cowan(Director)in
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesBasecamp FundBessemer Venture PartnersCredo VenturesGiant Step CapitalInitialized Capital
WhiteFox Defense develops AI-driven solutions for defense innovation and aerospace applications.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechHardware
Co-investorsFrontier Venture CapitalMoore Venture PartnersSerra Ventures
SeRo provides airspace surveillance and GNSS performance monitoring through ground receiver networks and analytics platforms.
Deep TechDefense TechGovTechHardwareIoTFrankfurt, DE
Matthias Schäfer(Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer)inMarkus Fuchs(Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer)in
Sightec develops visual autonomy software for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) that enables reliable navigation and situational awareness in GPS-denied, urban, and contested environments using computer vision technology.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRobotics
Co-investorsPlayfair Capital
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesOrbital Insight · observationdata.com · Jun 18, 2026
Picogrid · latimes.com · Jun 15, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Starburst Ventures invest at?
- Starburst Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
- What sectors does Starburst Ventures focus on?
- Starburst Ventures focuses on Climate Tech, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Hardware, Mobility & Transportation, Space Tech.
- Where is Starburst Ventures located?
- Starburst Ventures is headquartered in Los Angeles.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamFrancois Chopard, CEO, Starburst Ventures at Global Aerospace Summit | Francois Chopard, Chief Executive Officer, Starburst Ventures discusses how the space-startup culture continues to go from strength to strength, with... | By Global Space CongressFacebook
Francois Chopard · facebook.com
InnoVet – From the Battlefield to Startup
Starburst
IAI CATALYST Accelerator Program Informational Webinar
Starburst
SATE Accelerator Cohort 1 Demo Day
Starburst
Webinar: IAI CATALYST Cohort 2 'Ask Me Anything' #2
Starburst
Accelerating innovation in aeronautics - Panel Discussion during Eurosatory 2024 [FRENCH]
Starburst
Images
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